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Water-gate at the Jersey Shore? A federal team will dive into those record-high surf temperatures.

The record readings are in question, and NOAA has "disabled" the Atlantic City gauge due to "suspect" data.

The scene on the Caspian Avenue beach in Atlantic City, where water temperature readings have had their lows and highs this summer.
The scene on the Caspian Avenue beach in Atlantic City, where water temperature readings have had their lows and highs this summer.Read moreDAVID MAIALETTI / Staff Photographer

Federal officials are diving into the mystery of that flare-up of tropical-like water temperatures at the Jersey Shore that were unprecedented in the 111-year period of record.

After cresting past the standing record several times during a run of ultrahigh readings that began Tuesday, the official NOAA gauge topped out at 84.7 Thursday evening.

But it hasn’t been etched in the books yet: NOAA says it is “under review.”

Said Cameron Wunderlin, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service Office in Mount Holly, “We definitely can’t verify it yet.”

» READ MORE: The NOAA gauge hit a record level on Thursday. Will it stand?

He said that a National Ocean Service team will be taking a hard look at the gauge next week. For now, NOAA says, the gauge has been “disabled” because of “suspect data.” It is located off Steel Pier, about 6 to 8 feet deep, says Michael Silva, a lead meteorologist at the Mount Holly office.

The 84.7 degrees well exceeded the old standard, 83.3 degrees, set on Aug. 10, 2016, said Jim Eberwine, retired marine meteorologist at the Mount Holly office and now Absecon’s emergency management chief.

The readings have been so high this week that they raised skepticism among some bathers and got the attention of meteorologists.

Water-gate at the Jersey Shore?

Actually, Wunderlin said Saturday, it’s possible the record will survive. While the gauge data appear “noisy,” he said, they “look correct compared to other measurements and models.”

Unquestionably, the water has been way warmer than it was not so long ago. During “upwelling” events in late July and earlier this month, the toe-chilling waters dipped into the mid-50s — 55.8 degrees on Aug. 10.

» READ MORE: Once upon a time not long ago, the waters at the Shore were quite chilly

Those swings are related to the winds. The upwelling resulted from the same persistent winds from the south that baked the region with intense heat July into August and had a chilling effect on the Jersey Shore surf.

Because of Earth’s spin, the Coriolis force, the waters move at a 90-degree angle to the right of the wind direction, explains Michael Crowley, with the Rutgers University Center for Ocean Observing Leadership. Warm waters were exported offshore, replaced by the cooler water below the surface.

The warmer waters sloshed back toward the shore when the winds switched around to the north on Tuesday, he said. But just how warm?

In the meantime, the conditions at the Shore should be splendid for at least the next few days with sun and temperatures in the mid-80s.

We’ll keep you posted about the water temperatures.